"the song now called ""Tonight"". Although it was not industry standard at the time, Nixon arranged to receive a small percentage of the royalties for sales of the soundtrack, which, as she did not receive credit for her performance on the album, she indicates helped ""salve any wounds"". All music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Vocal performers listed parenthetically after song title. West Side Story (soundtrack) West Side Story is the soundtrack to the 1961 film ""West Side Story"". Released in 1961, the soundtrack spent 54 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's album charts, giving it the"
"Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Many of his songs are standard repertoire for vocalists and jazz musicians. He co-wrote 850 songs. Hammerstein was the lyricist and playwright in his partnerships; his collaborators wrote the music. Hammerstein collaborated with numerous composers, such as Jerome Kern, with whom he wrote ""Show Boat"", Vincent Youmans, Rudolf Friml, Richard A. Whiting and Sigmund"
"including: Otto Harbach Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of about 50 musical comedies. He was Oscar Hammerstein II's mentor and believed that librettists should integrate songs into the plot. He is considered one of the first great lyricists, and helped raise the status of the lyricist in an age concerned more with music, costumes, and stars. Some of his more famous lyrics are for ""Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"", ""Indian Love Call"" and ""Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine"". Harbach was born in Salt"
"Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the US to receive worldwide acclaim. According to music critic Donal Henahan, he was ""one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history."" His fame derived from his long tenure as the music director of the New York Philharmonic, from his conducting of concerts with most of the world's leading orchestras, and from his music for ""West Side Story"", ""Peter Pan"", ""Candide"", ""Wonderful Town"","
"Otto Harbach Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of about 50 musical comedies. He was Oscar Hammerstein II's mentor and believed that librettists should integrate songs into the plot. He is considered one of the first great lyricists, and helped raise the status of the lyricist in an age concerned more with music, costumes, and stars. Some of his more famous lyrics are for ""Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"", ""Indian Love Call"" and ""Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine"". Harbach was born in Salt Lake"
"dubbed into other languages. All of them were released on DVD by Kultur Video (half of them in 2013). Around the time he was appointed music director of the New York Philharmonic, and living opposite Carnegie Hall at The Osborne, Bernstein composed the music for two shows. The first was for the operetta ""Candide"", which was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman based on Voltaire's novella. The second was Bernstein's collaboration with the choreographer Jerome Robbins, the writer Arthur Laurents, and the lyricist Stephen Sondheim to produce the musical ""West Side Story"". The first three had"
"Side Story"". ""West Side Story"" is a contemporary version of ""Romeo and Juliet"", set in Hell's Kitchen. The show, with music by Leonard Bernstein, marked the first collaboration between Robbins and Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the lyrics, as well as Arthur Laurents, who wrote the book. Because book, music, and dance were envisioned as an organic whole, the cast, in a Broadway first, had to be equally skilled as actors, singers, and dancers. To help the young cast grow into their roles, Robbins did not allow those playing members of opposite gangs (Jets and Sharks) to mix during the rehearsal"
"lyrics for a musical version of ""The Exception and the Rule""; according to Robbins, Bernstein would not work without Sondheim. When Sondheim agreed, Guare asked: ""Why haven't you all worked together since ""West Side Story""?"" Sondheim answered, ""You'll see"". Guare said that working with Sondheim was like being with an old college roommate, and he depended on him to ""decode and decipher their crazy way of working""; Bernstein worked only after midnight, and Robbins only in the early morning. Bernstein's score, which was supposed to be light, was influenced by his need to make a musical statement. Stuart Ostrow, who"
"In 1957, ""West Side Story"" opened; directed by Jerome Robbins, it ran for 732 performances. Sondheim has expressed dissatisfaction with his lyrics, saying that they do not always fit the characters and are sometimes too consciously poetic. While Bernstein was working on ""Candide"", Sondheim reportedly wrote some of ""West Side Story""s music; Bernstein's co-lyricist credit disappeared from ""West Side Story"" during its tryout, possibly as a trade-off. Sondheim insisted that Bernstein told the producers to list him as the sole lyricist. He described the division of the royalties, saying that Bernstein received three percent and he received one percent. Bernstein"
"composers included the Massachusetts native and conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, known for his works ""Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs"", ""Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion"", ""Chichester Psalms"", and the musicals ""On the Town"" and ""West Side Story"". Another major composer was Elliott Carter, whom John Warthen Struble claimed would likely be remembered as ""the most significant of the mid-20th century... composers [because he] reconceived and restructured the fundamental language of Western art music in evolving his powerful personal style... his music has earned immense respect from colleagues of virtually every esthetic stripe, as well as three generations of"
"yet sensitive and comprehensive interpretations. Mercurio's commitment and passion for operatic scores yields thrilling performances for both audiences and performers. He has conducted more than forty seven operas in seven different languages. For Orchestra For voice and Orchestra Steven Mercurio Steven Mercurio is an Italian American conductor and composer. Steven Mercurio was born in Bardonia, New York in 1956. He is married to Lisa Mercurio (née Lisa Levine), former Sr. Vice President of Universal's Crossover Division and a trained pianist. She is currently the co-founder of BedtimeNetwork.com. Like Leonard Bernstein, who wrote three symphonies as well as West Side Story,"
"which was a program developed by Criminal Justice Researcher Anna Laszlo and former Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske. The two-year project brought together former gang members and police officers for the purpose of taking a theatre class based on the music and lyrics of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's iconic musical West Side Story. Demenkoff was recruited by the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and their sister campus the Art of Acting Studio in Los Angeles in 2012 to serve as the Director of Outreach. At the Stella Adler Studio, he led their teams of Actor Warriors: World Class Instructors"
"Oscar Hammerstein Award The Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre is named in honor of American lyricist and librettist Oscar Hammerstein, who helped shape American theater music through his collaborations with a number of different composers and writers. The award was created in 1988 by Janet Hayes Walker, the Founding Artistic Director of The York Theatre Company, and is presented with the endorsement of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization and the Hammerstein family. The Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala is the major annual fundraising event of The York, a mainstay of the Off-Broadway scene for more than 45"
"music, choral works, opera, chamber music and pieces for the piano. Many of his works are regularly performed around the world, although none has matched the tremendous popular and critical success of ""West Side Story"". He was born Louis Bernstein in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Ukrainian Jewish parents Jennie (née Resnick) and Samuel Joseph Bernstein, a hairdressing supplies wholesaler originating from Rovno (now Ukraine). His family spent their summers at their vacation home in Sharon, Massachusetts. His grandmother insisted that his first name be Louis, but his parents always called him Leonard, which they preferred. He legally changed his"
"Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein refers to composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together were an influential, innovative and successful American musical theatre writing team. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s, initiating what is considered the ""golden age"" of musical theatre. Five of their Broadway shows, ""Oklahoma!"", ""Carousel"", ""South Pacific"", ""The King and I"" and ""The Sound of Music"", were outstanding successes, as was the television broadcast of ""Cinderella"" (1957). Of the other four that the team produced on Broadway during their lifetimes, ""Flower Drum Song"" was"
"co-author of the lyrics, although Sondheim was uncertain he wanted to receive sole credit for what he considered to be overly florid contributions by Bernstein. Robbins demanded and received a ""Conceived by"" credit, and used it to justify his making major decisions regarding changes in the show without consulting the others. As a result, by opening night on Broadway, none of his collaborators were talking to him. It has been rumored that while Bernstein was off trying to fix the musical ""Candide"", Sondheim wrote some of the music for ""West Side Story"", and that Bernstein's co-lyricist billing mysteriously disappeared from"
"as a leader for several labels. Albam also found an entree into the classical music world when he arranged Leonard Bernstein's score for ""West Side Story"" in 1957. The work earned Albam a Grammy Nomination in 1959. Bernstein was said to have been so impressed that he invited Albam to write for the New York Philharmonic itself, an invitation, according to allmusic.com, that led Albam to study classical music for a time and, in due course, write such works as ""Concerto for Trombone and Strings"". By 1964, Albam became musical director for United Artists-Solid State Records; his jazz suite ""The"
"Laurents and Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers' daughter, to write the lyrics. Even so, Rodgers felt that the original play did not lend itself to musicalization; Sondheim agreed. According to Peter Filichia, ""Sondheim didn’t want to do the musical in the first place, but given that Laurents sought him – and had recommended him for 'West Side Story' when he was a novice — he accepted. Also a factor was that his now-deceased mentor Oscar Hammerstein had recommended that he succeed him as Rodgers’ lyricist."" Rodgers, who was producing the Broadway production, rejected Martin as too old for Leona. Franco Zeffirelli"
"a singing and theatrical career. He studied singing with Marlena Malas, Yolanda Marculescu and Gérard Souzay. He also became a member of the Skylight Opera Theatre in Milwaukee. In 1982 Ollmann moved to New York City. There he was introduced to Leonard Bernstein, and he performed in Bernstein's opera ""A Quiet Place"" in 1984, and participated in recordings of Bernstein's ""West Side Story"" (as Riff) and ""Candide"" (as Maximilian), both conducted by Bernstein. In the 2000s Ollmann served as an associate professor of music at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. The 1989 recording of Bernstein's ""Candide"", in which Ollmann sang the"
"managed Oscar's Victoria Theatre, and Willie's son Oscar Hammerstein II was one of Broadway's most influential lyricists and bookwriters, as well as a director and producer. Oscar Hammerstein I Oscar Hammerstein I (8 May 18461 August 1919) was a German-born businessman, theater impresario, and composer in New York City. His passion for opera led him to open several opera houses, and he rekindled opera's popularity in America. He was the grandfather of American lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II and the father of theater manager William Hammerstein and American producer Arthur Hammerstein. Oscar Hammerstein I was born in Stettin (capital of the"
"Spy"" (1951). In 1924 Hammerstein was married to silent film actress and stage personality Dorothy Dalton. His daughter Elaine Hammerstein, from his first marriage was a well-known stage and film actress. Hammerstein died on October 12, 1955, from a heart attack at age 82. Arthur Hammerstein Arthur Hammerstein (December 21, 1872 – October 12, 1955) was an American songwriter, dramatist, playwright and theater manager Born and educated to a Jewish family in New York City, Hammerstein was the son of the theater impresario and composer Oscar Hammerstein I. Arthur started out as a bricklayer and plasterer, working on projects with"
"Arthur Hammerstein Arthur Hammerstein (December 21, 1872 – October 12, 1955) was an American songwriter, dramatist, playwright and theater manager Born and educated to a Jewish family in New York City, Hammerstein was the son of the theater impresario and composer Oscar Hammerstein I. Arthur started out as a bricklayer and plasterer, working on projects with his father including the Victoria Theater and Manhattan Opera House. In 1908 Hammerstein started working on becoming a producer, signing Italian singer Luisa Tetrazzini to the family's Manhattan Center and negotiating with Otto Kahn before moving to London in 1910. While there Arthur and"
"and he and Robbins had invited Betty Comden and Adolph Green to write the lyrics, but the team opted to work on ""Peter Pan"" instead. Laurents asked Sondheim if he would be interested in tackling the task. Initially he resisted, because he was determined to write the full score for his next project (""Saturday Night"" had been aborted), but Oscar Hammerstein convinced him that he would benefit from the experience, and he accepted. Meanwhile, Laurents had written a new draft of the book changing the characters' backgrounds: Anton, once an Irish American, was now of Polish and Irish descent, and"
"the commissary, he met longtime friend, Joe Fields, who mentioned that he was negotiating for the rights to ""The Flower Drum Song"". Intrigued by the title, Hammerstein asked for a copy of the novel, and decided that it had potential as a musical – the lyricist described it as ""sort of a Chinese ""Life with Father"""". Hammerstein consulted with Rodgers, and they agreed to make it their next work, to be written and produced in association with Fields. Hammerstein began work in mid-1958. In July, however, he fell ill and was hospitalized for a month. This forced him to hurry"
"and brother to the United States, where his father (on advice from the Quakers who had taken the family in upon arrival in Philadelphia) changed the family name to Foss. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, with Isabelle Vengerova (piano), Rosario Scalero (composition) and Fritz Reiner (conducting). At Curtis, Foss began a lifelong friendship with classmate Leonard Bernstein, who later described Foss as an ""authentic genius."" In 1961 Bernstein conducted the premiere of Foss's ""Time Cycle"", while Foss would conduct the premiere of Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from ""West Side Story"". Foss also studied with Serge Koussevitzky"
"told him he was working on a musical version of ""Romeo and Juliet"" with Leonard Bernstein, but they needed a lyricist; Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who were supposed to write the lyrics, were under contract in Hollywood. He said that although he was not a big fan of Sondheim's music, he enjoyed the lyrics from ""Saturday Night"" and he could audition for Bernstein. The following day, Sondheim met and played for Bernstein, who said he would let him know. The composer wanted to write music and lyrics; after consulting with Hammerstein, Bernstein told Sondheim he could write music later."
"Arnold Weinstein Arnold Weinstein (June 10, 1927–September 4, 2005) was an American poet, playwright and librettist, who referred to himself as a ""theatre poet"". Weinstein is best known for his collaborations with composer William Bolcom, including the operas ""McTeague"", based on the novel by Frank Norris, ""A View from the Bridge"" based on the play by Arthur Miller, and ""A Wedding"", based on the film by Robert Altman. Bolcom described his work with Weinstein as a ""true collaboration"", and said about him that ""He had such a gift for writing words that were singable, and that gave character. He was"
"from the dream sequence and says that's not the rumble he had in mind. Tonight Quintet The ""Tonight Quintet"" is a number from the musical ""West Side Story"" (1957), with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Carol J. Oja has written that, ""with the 'Tonight' quintet, Bernstein once again created a masterpiece of ensemble, one that rivals the best of such moments in European opera."" Her remark echoes the earlier view of Will Crutchfield. In his review of the 1984 studio performance of ""West Side Story"", which was conducted by Bernstein himself, Crutchfield wrote that the release"
"West Side Story (Cal Tjader album) West Side Story is an album featuring American vibraphonist Cal Tjader, consisting of musical numbers from Leonard Bernstein's ""West Side Story"" in jazz arrangements, by Tjader's pianist and musical director Clare Fischer, without vocals. It was recorded in October 1960 and released on the Fantasy label in January 1961 as Fantasy 3310 / 8054 (reissued on LP in 1968, in stereo only, as Fantasy 8379). On July 30, 2002, Fantasy would reissue it – along with the 1962 LP ""Cal Tjader Plays Harold Arlen"" – on CD as ""Cal Tjader Plays Harold Arlen and"
"Show, entitled ""On Your Way"". Throughout the rest of his college career, Hammerstein wrote and performed in several Varsity Shows. After quitting law school to pursue theatre, Hammerstein began his first professional collaboration, with Herbert Stothart, Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel. He began as an apprentice and went on to form a 20-year collaboration with Harbach. Out of this collaboration came his first musical, ""Always You"", for which he wrote the book and lyrics. It opened on Broadway in 1920. In 1921 Hammerstein joined The Lambs club. Throughout the next forty years, Hammerstein teamed with many other composers, including Jerome"
"Steven Mercurio Steven Mercurio is an Italian American conductor and composer. Steven Mercurio was born in Bardonia, New York in 1956. He is married to Lisa Mercurio (née Lisa Levine), former Sr. Vice President of Universal's Crossover Division and a trained pianist. She is currently the co-founder of BedtimeNetwork.com. Like Leonard Bernstein, who wrote three symphonies as well as West Side Story, Maestro Steven Mercurio inhabits both the classical and pop worlds – a thoughtful and sophisticated American composer both versatile and unconventional. He possesses a gift for writing unforgettable melodies and orchestral works, and lives a parallel career as"
"in touch with Bernstein, who had returned to New York. When the producer of ""The Painted Veil"" replaced Gardner with Eleanor Parker and asked Laurents to revise his script with her in mind, he backed out of the film, freeing him to devote all his time to the stage musical. In New York City, Laurents went to the opening night party for a new play by Ugo Betti, and there he met Sondheim, who had heard that ""East Side Story"", now retitled ""West Side Story"", was back on track. Bernstein had decided he needed to concentrate solely on the music,"
"case of the MGM musicals, it was usually Conrad Salinger, and in the case of ""West Side Story"", it was Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal. As mentioned earlier, Green conducted the orchestra for such famous MGM musicals as ""An American in Paris"", as well as for United Artists' 1961 film version of ""West Side Story"". In 1965, Green conducted the music for that year's new adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's only musical for television, ""Cinderella"", starring Lesley Ann Warren, Walter Pidgeon, Ginger Rogers, and Stuart Damon. Johnny Green also adapted, orchestrated and conducted the music for the film ""Oliver!"" (1968),"